June 6, 2007
Fathers of the Future: How Many Dads Will There Be?
As I was driving back from dropping my son off at his pre-school today, I heard a radio announcement by washington post.com mentioning a recent 
article on The Birthrate of Boys Is Declining by Rick Weiss that starts off with “If you are thinking of having children and want to have a boy, you might want to book that romantic weekend getaway soon. Boys are getting harder to make, according to a new analysis.” [You can register for free on their site to see the full article] They have observed this phenomenon is the US and Japan. Some of the reasons cited had to do with fewer males being conceived as well as the current hypothesis of greater exposure to gender-bending pollutants. What does this mean for the fathers of the future?
Interestingly (prior to hearing the article mentioned on the radio), the ‘bug guy’ as we call him came to the house this morning. The kids were with me but we left soon after he was done with the inside and he continued to spray the outside. Coincidentally, I asked him what he knew about pesticides, pregnant women, and babies. Previously I had heard that exposure to certain pesticides while in utero can result in learning disabilities (e.g. autism) later in the baby’s life. He said he has been following it closely. He said he sprays very lightly if there is a pregnant woman in the house and since he typically uses very safe chemicals he doesn’t think there is a big risk. I remember asking him not to spray inside the house when I was pregnant and when the kids were babies. I figured 6 to 12 months of having a few extra bugs in the house was worth managing the potential long term risk; he still sprayed on the outside because here in Texas we have all kinds of ants and other crawly things especially when it rains a lot. We have a boy and a girl, and I believe the bug guy has 4 girls from two different marriages. It gave me pause.
If any of you parents and/or scientists (real or pretend) out there have anything to share about this phenomenon, please leave a comment and let us know your opinions, thoughts, and ideas.
Aruni
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